Determination or Dogged Pursuit of Perfection?

2012 November 20

by elizabeth_admin

People, I now have a brand new collar and stand attached to my shirt. You know what that means right? Yep, my seam ripper was my best friend today. I cut out a new collar and stand as well as new cuffs (third set, not that I’m counting). I used a different interfacing this time around, the Pro-Weft from Pam Erny’s on-line store, Fashion Sewing Supply, and it has made all the difference. My collar has body, but doesn’t stand at attention all on its own. I took my time with sewing the collar onto my shirt. I even ripped out some stitches I didn’t like and re-top-stitched.

But I am starting to get a little worried here.

I am have been working on this shirt for 5 days now. Almost non-stop while battling a vicious cold that has grabbed hold of my lungs. I am beginning to wonder if I might have a little addiction to perfectionism or maybe I have some sort of psychopathic need to not let this shirt become a “muslin“. It goes far beyond just not wanting to waste the red linen fabric on a muslin, although I do love it. It’s more of a “I’m-not-going-to-let-this-bastard-get-the-best-of-me” kind of thing. I am taking a certain obscene pleasure out of my new collar, not because it’s a nice one (it is), but because I won.

I am competing against a shirt, people! Who does that???

Have I gone off the sewing deep end? Do any of you become obsessed with a project like this where you can’t let it go to Wadderland or Muslinville? Where you refuse to give in past all sense of decency?

This fall I took a class to learn to make a sweatshirt. I altered the pattern. I strip pieced fabric for the hood lining. I am sure that the instructor (who was very nice about my work) thought that I was a little nuts. One person in the class very politely remarked about how this was a lot of work to go for a sweatshirt. And when I said (politely as well) that if I had just wanted a plain navy sweatshirt I could have gone to Old Navy, & saved myself a lot of time & effort. This was why I sewed. To get exactly what I wanted, to enjoy the process of creating something that no one else had. Obsess on!

LOL well another thing Ive learned in my shirtmaking odyssey is that this is just part of acquiring shirtmaking skills! I did the same thing on the stripe shirt I just made, I think it took me even longer than 5 days. But once I really get my pattern TNT’d I’m sure the whole process will eventually take a lot less time. I recall Pam Erny saying she can bang out a shirt in about two hours! Pro-Weft is a good choice, I’ve used it, I also like using Pam’s Pro-Elegance knit.

Some of the things I have competed against include a set of brake pads that would not budge (I paid more in tools to remove them than I would have paid to have them removed and replaced at a garage), an IKEA table that refused to assemble properly, a boef bourginon recipe that was sub-par (to say the least, thus requiring a tweak or two over the next dozen times I prepared it), and a pair of socks that, when knit, were first too long, then too short, still too thin and then too wide. Keep fighting, babes. It’s the fighting – and then finally the winning – that gives us spirit. xoxos

Yes, a Burda duffel coat and a Knock-you-naked brownies recipe that came out perfectly the first time and then never again. My daughter is quite the opposite and wears clothes w/ interesting construction techniques :). Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Elizabeth!
I think of these kinds of issues as just another step on my sewing journey. The garments I make that turn out well turned out that way because I had plenty of wadders and mis-steps along the way. My bad garments contributed to my good because I learned from them. Also sometimes stepping away from it for a while gives me the space for ideas to come up on their own to “fix” the issue–things I might not necessarily have thought about if I didn’t back away.

I also like to finish what I start and see it all the way through to the bitter end. Then I wear it once and never again. ha ha!

Thank you for your enthusiastic support of my jeans! I am kind of amazed at myself.
Happy Thanksgiving, Kyle

It’s a beautifil shirt and sooo worth every minute you spent on it. No, you certainly haven’t gone off the deep end. LOL!!! You’re a good mom…you aren’t a quitter and that little boy who lives with you won’t be either.

No, you’re not alone in refusing to accept a muslin when you really want a wearable shirt! I take the number of days it requires, and that’s just enough. Thank goodness for Pam Erny and her refusal to accept so-so fusibles, too. Your new shirt is beautiful!

Your shirt looks great. I’m still struggling with the collar and band. How did you sew them. Did you sew the collar and band and then attach as a unit to the shirt or did you sew the band to the shirt and then sew collar by sort of inserting it. I haven’t tried this method yet.